The pain drove the great snake into a frenzy. Its tail thrashed about erratically—left, right, up, and down—snapping smaller trees in half.
Faye Yardley was certain that if she got hit even once, it would be all over for her.
'What do I do? What do I do?!'
Panic seized her heart, but Faye Yardley's feet had a mind of their own and were already carrying her away.
As she fled for her life, she ignored minor things like her arm smacking into branches or vines scratching her cheeks.
She nearly tripped and fell several times.
The great snake's aggro was locked firmly onto Faye Yardley. She ran, it chased, and she was gradually finding herself trapped with no escape...
Fortunately, Faye Yardley hadn't entered the Dungeon alone. There was still Zachary Pierce, whom the great snake had completely ignored.
The ground was left flattened and devastated where the snake's thick body had passed. Blood streamed continuously from its eye, its mouth was forced open by the greatsword and couldn't close, and it kept ramming its head into the trees on either side.
Zachary Pierce turned back, picked up the harpoon Faye Yardley had thrown earlier, and gave chase.
He planned to hurl the harpoon straight into its mouth. The snake's scales were too tough; their only option was to attack it from the inside.
'If only I had some poison,' he thought. 'I could toss it into the snake's mouth and hopefully kill it outright.'
Luckily, Faye Yardley wasn't running in a straight line, but in circles.
She had no choice. If she didn't run faster, the snake would smash her into a pulp.
A tree fell with every lash of its tail. 'It's scaring me to death!'
[Dear player, the trial Dungeon will end in ten minutes. Please make the most of your remaining time.]
Aaaah!
Faye Yardley let out a terrified shriek after the snake's tail nearly clipped her head.
As she rounded a bend, she created an opening for Zachary Pierce, who had been in pursuit. He forcefully hurled the harpoon in his hand toward the great snake's left eye.
SQUELCH! The harpoon plunged deep into the snake's left eye. The eye, which was already wounded and bleeding, was instantly ruined. Fresh blood sprayed out, and the giant snake, in agony, threw its head back and thrashed wildly from side to side.
As it hissed, its forked tongue was sliced open by the blade in its mouth, instantly doubling the giant snake's pain.
The giant snake stopped in its tracks to rage, giving Faye Yardley a chance to catch her breath. She finally remembered that among the plants she'd gathered was the Golden Flower—the entire plant was poisonous.
She took a dagger and the Golden Flower from her backpack. Pulling down her sleeve to cover her hand, she hastily smeared the Golden Flower all over the dagger. Then, gritting her teeth, she turned back and approached the giant snake.
Although the two-meter-long greatsword propped its huge mouth open, there was still a large gap on either side. Faye Yardley took a deep breath and viciously threw the dagger, coated with the entire Golden Flower, into its mouth. She watched as the great snake swallowed the dagger whole.
And now...
Run!
As Faye Yardley ran, she tripped and rolled twice before stopping. She found herself facing a field of trees knocked down by the giant snake. Her hands moved faster than her brain, and she immediately reached out to touch one.
[Obtained Intermediate Wood x3]
'Oh my god~'
'Who could resist this?'
Faye Yardley saw that the giant snake was still thrashing about wildly and didn't seem to be chasing her. With only eight minutes left on the Dungeon countdown, she began to frantically gather wood.
She was the very picture of someone who'd risk their life for a little profit.
Meanwhile, Zachary Pierce was carefully avoiding the rampaging snake, Iron Axe in hand, trying to find another opportunity to damage it.
With five minutes left on the countdown, Faye Yardley stopped her frantic wood gathering. She slapped her forehead. 'I'm so stupid.'
She took out the Silver Treasure Chest and opened it directly, not even bothering with chanting a spell.
[Obtained Peerless Treasure Sword x1, Production Workshop Blueprint x1, Warehouse Construction Blueprint x1, Antidote Potion Recipe x1, Luminous Pearl x2, Water-Repelling Pearl x1, Small Group Chat Coupon x1]
'Holy crap, I hit the jackpot!'
She stored the other items in her backpack and dashed toward the giant snake, carrying the Peerless Treasure Sword.
Seeing Zachary Pierce, she immediately shouted, "Mr. Pierce, come here! I've got a good weapon for you!"
"Toss it over."
"No, you come get it! I'm afraid its tail will knock it away if I throw it." Faye Yardley was even more afraid she'd accidentally skewer Zachary Pierce.
Zachary Pierce and Faye Yardley ran toward each other, quickly handing off the Treasure Sword.
At that moment, Zachary Pierce had no time to wonder where the sword had come from.
When he raised the sword and brought it down in a diagonal slash against the giant snake's tail, the attack that had previously been unable to break through its scales now severed nearly half the tail clean off!
The sharpness of the Treasure Sword exceeded Zachary Pierce's imagination. It also gave him the confidence to finish off the giant snake in the time they had left.
Faye Yardley, who had retreated to a safe distance to watch, saw the tail get sliced in two with a single blow, and her eyes went wide.
Her feet moved faster than her brain as she ran toward the severed tail section.
Wielding the Treasure Sword, Zachary Pierce's damage output skyrocketed.
The Treasure Sword sliced open the snake's belly, disemboweling it. A GUSH of blood spilled onto the ground, and the cloying, sweet, metallic scent of its blood filled the air, making Zachary Pierce feel dazed for a moment.
Just then, Faye Yardley heard a system notification: [Acquired one-third of a Second Tier Giant Snake Tail. Can be disassembled. Disassemble?]
"Disassemble!"
[Obtained Hardened Snake Skin x1, Snake Meat Rich in Energy x5, Snake Bone x1]
With two minutes left on the countdown, the snake's head suddenly smashed down toward Zachary Pierce. He did a sliding tackle, sword raised, narrowly dodging as the tip of his blade sliced a circle of skin from under the snake's eye.
One minute left on the countdown.
Zachary Pierce once again pierced the snake's scales and stabbed into its body. He struck four more times in quick succession, each thrust tearing out flesh and blood.
With a final thrust that pierced both its eyes, the giant snake collapsed with a thunderous CRASH, knocking down two more trees.
[Ding! Congratulations to Zachary Pierce and Faye Yardley's party for killing the Second Tier BOSS, the Giant Snake. A server-wide announcement will now be made. Do you wish to remain anonymous?]
Faye Yardley chose to be anonymous, and to her surprise, so did Zachary Pierce.
[Server-Wide Announcement: Congratulations to the anonymous party for achieving the world's first kill of the Second Tier BOSS, the Giant Snake, in the trial Dungeon! The Survival Game Ranking function is now unlocked. The system trading function will now begin early. Party points +3000. Each party member's game reputation +500. Free attribute points +2.] x3
While the three server-wide announcements were being broadcast, Faye Yardley was already looting the Giant Snake BOSS's corpse.
[Obtained Snake Gallbladder x1, Snake Meat Rich in Energy x15, Snake Bone x3, Hardened Snake Skin x2, Damaged Snake Skin x2, Snake Blood x500ml, Poisonous Fang x2, Ordinary Island Entry Order x1, Snake Egg x2]
She quickly touched the toppled trees nearby. [Obtained High Level Redwood x4]
[Obtained Intermediate Wood x3]
[Obtained High Level Fir Wood x2]
[Trial Dungeon game countdown: 10 seconds remaining. 10... 9... 5...]
"Mr. Pierce, let's sort out the loot after we leave the Dungeon."
The words had barely left Faye Yardley's mouth, and before she could get a reply from Zachary Pierce, she was kicked out of the Dungeon and found herself back in the Wooden House on her raft.